So is Europe's energy crisis over? Experts caution that falling bills belie a deeper economic hangover that could extend into the next decade.
Tomas Marzec-Manser, head of gas analytics at the data provider ICIS, said:. "I would say that we're managing the crisis. But the wider economic picture has become its own beast." Before the Ukraine invasion of February 2022, Russian pipelines were Europe's biggest source of imported gas. After the attack, imports plunged by two-thirds from their 2019 peak, forcing wholesale prices to almost 10 times the pre-crisis level.
Today there are clear signs that the gas supply crunch has begun to ease. Europe has emerged from its second winter without access to Russian supplies with gas stores at a record 59% full, according to the industry body Gas Infrastructure Europe, thanks to pipeline imports from Norway and seaborne gas from the US.
This story is from the April 04, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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This story is from the April 04, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
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